Two of my best friends from high school, Chad and Wes, were here for the weekend. They took off about an hour and a half ago to see another mutual friend from high school. We had a good time. Good people came over. The cops only had to come by once for a minor noise complaint. Get eight people on a third floor balcony and yes, the sound will carry more loudly than anticipated by said eight people. They were cool, though, and we toned it down before we left again.
*
Very close. Imminently close to finalizing PhD plans. Most of you reading this probably already know where it's going to be, but I'd rather wait until sheets of paper are signed and faxed and in the mail and all of that.
*
Saw Dan Deacon last night @ William & Mary last night. It was only about an hour away, so we thought we'd take it easy and check it out. Their bus broke down, so they got there a bit late. Luckily, so did we. The back-up band for Dan Deacon was mostly comprised of members from the two opening bands, Teeth Mountain and Future Islands. The former was interesting, if a bit too noisy and avant-garde for me by the end of their one-long-song set. Future Islands is doing the whole bass-singer-keyboard thing, with a lot of pre-programmed drums. I found them a little boring honestly.
Finally Dan Deacon and crew got set up, but Dan was making sure everything sounded perfect before they started, so they sound-checking was seemingly interminable. But as Wes and I talked about, it ended up being necessary. When you have four keyboards, two drum kids, bass, guitar, other sound samples, a marimba, bells, and more, everything has to click. And yes, it did. Most of Bromst was played, and all of it sounded incredible, once again considering how many sounds comprised some of the extreme loudness.
If you don't know much about his shows, and I didn't, Dan likes to play in front of the stage. He puts all these epileptic-inducing lights up and fucks with those as different parts and choruses are going on. And he's also got tons of pedals and weird effects-driven modules on this table, along with a glowing green skull he puts a light bulb in.
At one point he had the crowd almost doing warming-up exercises. We were a bit hungover and too old, or felt like it at least. We preferred to stay off to the side. Especially when the two drummers were doing their thing, some of it mind-blowing to watch. But at one point he had people holding hands above each other's head, and people could continue that trend while going through the gauntlet, and the giant worm of hands ended up snaking around the whole venue (called The Little Theater, though it was kind of a smaller but larger gymnasium), and then almost everyone was outside in the hallway doing it. It was wild to watch.
The whole thing was an experience, and he didn't point us out as the non-participating, which was nice, and which I was certainly afraid of.
There are many tour dates left. Get Bromst. And go see him. It was beyond worth it, and a blast.
*
Digging the new Pop Ambient 2009 compilation from Kompakt. Along with the remastered and bonus-tracked Raise by Swervedriver. One of my favorite all-time records.
*
I want to melt all the guns in the world and build metal houses for people who need houses but don't have houses.
I'm sick of all these shootings and massacres. No one needs to own a gun. Use a crossbow if you want to hunt.
Showing posts with label live shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label live shows. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Center Field
Last Thursday I meant to write a post about Victoria Chang's reading at VCU, but clearly I am not getting to it until now.
As an added bonus, Jon Pineda got a hold of me, and he, Jess, and myself all got dinner before the reading. Jon graduated from VCU with his MFA in poetry, and he also did a First Book Interview, which will be running a few weeks. We got to share VCU stories and talk about the trials and tribulations of publication. He's not only a very talented poet, but in a few years I think he'll start dominating the poetry world, which he's already starting to do.
Victoria's new book, SALVINIA MOLESTA, seems so easy on the surface, and I think that's why she's becoming another poet to really keep an eye on. Though it may be breaking some sacred rule of closing the eyes and taking in the words, I like to follow along with the actual text of the poems at readings if I can. It helps so I don't drift off, which is too easy to do for me, especially since Victoria's poems seem so natural. So I bought a copy and did just that.
And like I said, I don't know exactly what makes them seem so easy on the surface, but these are poems that really take many readings to get to the heart, and thankfully I can keep returning to them now that I have my copy.
But what I kept noticing out of the corner of my eye was all the undergrads around. There were some current VCU students and professors and alums around, but it's a bit sad to me when the majority of the room is all undergrads that are forced to go because their teacher is either forcing them directly, in addition to the obligatory two-page write-up about the reading, or they want the A, so the extra credit is too enticing not to just show up to the reading.
I say sad because about two poems in, most were doodling away, already off in some other world. I understand this. I've been to enough readings. But it's frustrating to see, and it probably always will be for me. That said, I've always compared poetry readings to a kind of concert. Someone seeing MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS for the first time, not knowing Steve Reich's tendencies, not knowing anything about minimalism, might be swept away by, or they might be dulled by it, but even if it's the latter, knowing the work always enhances the experience.
And when there's nothing to listen to but the sound of the human voice, it's tough to get the audience involved. We all know that. Which is another reason why following along, if I can, always helps me and enhances the experience. Not only that, but you get a feel for a poet really having a foothold on how they read their work. For example: Victoria seems to end many lines with articles, which is something I don't see a lot of the time. Many of those lines, however, were broken by her voice not at the enjambment, but the natural rhythm of the caesura, almost always right before the end of the line or right after. So how she interprets her work isn't the way everyone else would interpret it as far as reading it aloud goes. Something to think about I suppose, for all of us reading our work aloud, especially when considering most of the audience won't be using a visual aid while listening.
I also made sure to talk to her about this previous post, the core of it which still fascinates me to no end: The different from poem publication in journals to book publication. How much freedom does one have? Or should one have? I told her that C. Dale Young -- who I think published one of the best in the book, "The Professor's Lover," in NER a few years ago -- commented, and some other folks did as well, so I asked her how she gauges those kind of changes. She basically told me that she's always working on her poems, even after they're published, and to her the publications in journals don't really matter, as far as the final product in the book goes. Makes a lot of sense.
But I think for younger, more inexperienced poets like myself, that can be a dangerous thing, in the sense that the focus could be on publish publish publish now and worry about your book later. But what if the book never comes? That said, I sincerely doubt someone who buys SALVINIA MOLESTA will have read every single poem in the particular journal where each poem was published. Also, isn't it dangerous to never publish because you're trying to chisel your poems to the precision of Michelangelo? Especially if you want to be in the poetry world of publishing and possibly teaching?
Anyway, it was a good reading, and Victoria, for how smart she is (she has degrees in many fields), seems really cool and down to earth. I'm glad I went, and I really need to kick myself in the ass when it comes to not missing readings and taking advantage of the opportunities I have to go to them.
*
Yesterday, because I had submitted my manuscript to the T.S. Eliot Prize last year, I received Victoria Brockmeier's MY MAIDEN COWBOY NAMES in the mail.
Contrary to possibly popular belief, I think it's great to receive the winning book in the mail if you're not the contest winner. If I'm going to spend the $25 for the fee, why not have a book to show for it? If there are other folks who didn't win feeling the opposite, well, suck it up, or move on to something else.
I did find it funny, however, to see they had a little postcard-sized notification of this year's deadline. Keep in mind that I received the book yesterday, November 10th.
And the deadline states: "We value your support of the competition. The next deadline is October 31st, 2008."
Hmmm. I wonder if they lost some additional $25 checks because of the lateness. Then again, I'm sure they didn't want to rush the book's publication. But still.
*
For those of you who are "friends" with Richard Siken on Facebook, he recently put up a few photos in a section he called, "How Is the New Book Coming Along?" Now I know I'm not the only one who thinks CRUSH is one of the best poetry books (not just first books) of the last five years or so, and it also had me thinking that among the duds of the Yale Younger Poets in the years since she took over (Say what you want, but there are many), there's hope that she may pick another book this great.
But above all, that means Richard Siken is working on a new book. And that excites me to no end. I'm not sure if he can one-up CRUSH, but regardless, I'll be pre-ordering it as soon as I can, even though it's in the "spread out all over the floor in weird patterns with lots of things highlighted and crossed out" stage, which you can see from the photos.
But in-the-works and Richard Siken equals a pretty killed one-two punch as far as I'm concerned.
*
I posted probably around a month ago a conversation I had with a secretary at a certain school to which I'd hoped to apply.
After about a month -- a month -- of calling, emailing, and bugging them, I finally got an answer. I can apply. It took a month for them to get around to basically letting me know the answer in about 180 seconds.
I'm not sure I discussed it, but there was a possible snafu with my General GRE scores with some schools, and it turns out that they're fine, thankfully. I don't have to take them again, which will save me a good deal of time and money when all is said and done.
So aside from all the ridiculousness of the last month with practically doing everything but driving up to the English department in the program a few states away, I finally got a positive answer.
Despite many people saying, "Just cross them off the list..." I'm persistent, maybe sometimes too persistent, but myself and others also held the school up pretty high, so I'm glad they'll be able to consider me, even if they end up saying no.
*
Two new live records of interest, both recorded live at The Triple Door in Seattle, and both very different musicians, both for whom I have a great affinity: Greg Dulli and Helios.
The Helios record sounds amazing. I don't know how he got it sound that good. I'm pretty sure the drum machine tracks are set up and he's playing guitar over everything, but he may have a keyboard too. Songs spanning across the board from his albums, and sometimes some beautiful improvisation. I've already been listening to it like crazy.
And Dulli's record is more intimate than AMBER HEADLIGHTS -- his only official solo record, scrapped after Ted Demme unfortunately passed away, and then reluctantly released after the persistence of so many fans like myself -- with a lot of covers, and some recently recorded Twilight Singers stuff, some from POWDER BURNS (one of my favorite records of the last five years) stripped down with mainly guitar and piano and strings.
They're both great. I can't believe how many amazing records continue to come out, seemingly exponentially, each year. I couldn't live without music.
*
Finally, there will be two new First Book Interviews posted tonight. I'll keep you in suspense for now, but I'll post them and post the update here when they're live.
Also, I got about six new interviews out to poets yesterday, with more books coming in, more questions being generated, and more interviews going out.
So get excited.
As an added bonus, Jon Pineda got a hold of me, and he, Jess, and myself all got dinner before the reading. Jon graduated from VCU with his MFA in poetry, and he also did a First Book Interview, which will be running a few weeks. We got to share VCU stories and talk about the trials and tribulations of publication. He's not only a very talented poet, but in a few years I think he'll start dominating the poetry world, which he's already starting to do.
Victoria's new book, SALVINIA MOLESTA, seems so easy on the surface, and I think that's why she's becoming another poet to really keep an eye on. Though it may be breaking some sacred rule of closing the eyes and taking in the words, I like to follow along with the actual text of the poems at readings if I can. It helps so I don't drift off, which is too easy to do for me, especially since Victoria's poems seem so natural. So I bought a copy and did just that.
And like I said, I don't know exactly what makes them seem so easy on the surface, but these are poems that really take many readings to get to the heart, and thankfully I can keep returning to them now that I have my copy.
But what I kept noticing out of the corner of my eye was all the undergrads around. There were some current VCU students and professors and alums around, but it's a bit sad to me when the majority of the room is all undergrads that are forced to go because their teacher is either forcing them directly, in addition to the obligatory two-page write-up about the reading, or they want the A, so the extra credit is too enticing not to just show up to the reading.
I say sad because about two poems in, most were doodling away, already off in some other world. I understand this. I've been to enough readings. But it's frustrating to see, and it probably always will be for me. That said, I've always compared poetry readings to a kind of concert. Someone seeing MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS for the first time, not knowing Steve Reich's tendencies, not knowing anything about minimalism, might be swept away by, or they might be dulled by it, but even if it's the latter, knowing the work always enhances the experience.
And when there's nothing to listen to but the sound of the human voice, it's tough to get the audience involved. We all know that. Which is another reason why following along, if I can, always helps me and enhances the experience. Not only that, but you get a feel for a poet really having a foothold on how they read their work. For example: Victoria seems to end many lines with articles, which is something I don't see a lot of the time. Many of those lines, however, were broken by her voice not at the enjambment, but the natural rhythm of the caesura, almost always right before the end of the line or right after. So how she interprets her work isn't the way everyone else would interpret it as far as reading it aloud goes. Something to think about I suppose, for all of us reading our work aloud, especially when considering most of the audience won't be using a visual aid while listening.
I also made sure to talk to her about this previous post, the core of it which still fascinates me to no end: The different from poem publication in journals to book publication. How much freedom does one have? Or should one have? I told her that C. Dale Young -- who I think published one of the best in the book, "The Professor's Lover," in NER a few years ago -- commented, and some other folks did as well, so I asked her how she gauges those kind of changes. She basically told me that she's always working on her poems, even after they're published, and to her the publications in journals don't really matter, as far as the final product in the book goes. Makes a lot of sense.
But I think for younger, more inexperienced poets like myself, that can be a dangerous thing, in the sense that the focus could be on publish publish publish now and worry about your book later. But what if the book never comes? That said, I sincerely doubt someone who buys SALVINIA MOLESTA will have read every single poem in the particular journal where each poem was published. Also, isn't it dangerous to never publish because you're trying to chisel your poems to the precision of Michelangelo? Especially if you want to be in the poetry world of publishing and possibly teaching?
Anyway, it was a good reading, and Victoria, for how smart she is (she has degrees in many fields), seems really cool and down to earth. I'm glad I went, and I really need to kick myself in the ass when it comes to not missing readings and taking advantage of the opportunities I have to go to them.
*
Yesterday, because I had submitted my manuscript to the T.S. Eliot Prize last year, I received Victoria Brockmeier's MY MAIDEN COWBOY NAMES in the mail.
Contrary to possibly popular belief, I think it's great to receive the winning book in the mail if you're not the contest winner. If I'm going to spend the $25 for the fee, why not have a book to show for it? If there are other folks who didn't win feeling the opposite, well, suck it up, or move on to something else.
I did find it funny, however, to see they had a little postcard-sized notification of this year's deadline. Keep in mind that I received the book yesterday, November 10th.
And the deadline states: "We value your support of the competition. The next deadline is October 31st, 2008."
Hmmm. I wonder if they lost some additional $25 checks because of the lateness. Then again, I'm sure they didn't want to rush the book's publication. But still.
*
For those of you who are "friends" with Richard Siken on Facebook, he recently put up a few photos in a section he called, "How Is the New Book Coming Along?" Now I know I'm not the only one who thinks CRUSH is one of the best poetry books (not just first books) of the last five years or so, and it also had me thinking that among the duds of the Yale Younger Poets in the years since she took over (Say what you want, but there are many), there's hope that she may pick another book this great.
But above all, that means Richard Siken is working on a new book. And that excites me to no end. I'm not sure if he can one-up CRUSH, but regardless, I'll be pre-ordering it as soon as I can, even though it's in the "spread out all over the floor in weird patterns with lots of things highlighted and crossed out" stage, which you can see from the photos.
But in-the-works and Richard Siken equals a pretty killed one-two punch as far as I'm concerned.
*
I posted probably around a month ago a conversation I had with a secretary at a certain school to which I'd hoped to apply.
After about a month -- a month -- of calling, emailing, and bugging them, I finally got an answer. I can apply. It took a month for them to get around to basically letting me know the answer in about 180 seconds.
I'm not sure I discussed it, but there was a possible snafu with my General GRE scores with some schools, and it turns out that they're fine, thankfully. I don't have to take them again, which will save me a good deal of time and money when all is said and done.
So aside from all the ridiculousness of the last month with practically doing everything but driving up to the English department in the program a few states away, I finally got a positive answer.
Despite many people saying, "Just cross them off the list..." I'm persistent, maybe sometimes too persistent, but myself and others also held the school up pretty high, so I'm glad they'll be able to consider me, even if they end up saying no.
*
Two new live records of interest, both recorded live at The Triple Door in Seattle, and both very different musicians, both for whom I have a great affinity: Greg Dulli and Helios.
The Helios record sounds amazing. I don't know how he got it sound that good. I'm pretty sure the drum machine tracks are set up and he's playing guitar over everything, but he may have a keyboard too. Songs spanning across the board from his albums, and sometimes some beautiful improvisation. I've already been listening to it like crazy.
And Dulli's record is more intimate than AMBER HEADLIGHTS -- his only official solo record, scrapped after Ted Demme unfortunately passed away, and then reluctantly released after the persistence of so many fans like myself -- with a lot of covers, and some recently recorded Twilight Singers stuff, some from POWDER BURNS (one of my favorite records of the last five years) stripped down with mainly guitar and piano and strings.
They're both great. I can't believe how many amazing records continue to come out, seemingly exponentially, each year. I couldn't live without music.
*
Finally, there will be two new First Book Interviews posted tonight. I'll keep you in suspense for now, but I'll post them and post the update here when they're live.
Also, I got about six new interviews out to poets yesterday, with more books coming in, more questions being generated, and more interviews going out.
So get excited.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The National @ The National Theater RVA
I figured I'd write this entry before I forget how amazing the show was. And by that I mean I won't be forgetting anytime soon. It was their last night on tour in June before they go overseas. I couldn't grab a set list, so I'm not sure I can do the order before the first encore exactly, but for the most part it's close I think.
Start a War
Brainy
Secret Meeting
Squalor Victoria
Baby, We'll Be Fine
Racing Like a Pro
Abel
Slow Show
Daughters of the SoHo Riots
Mistaken for Strangers
Wasp Nest
Ada
Apartment Story
Fake Empire
ENCORE ONE
Green Gloves
All the Wine
Mr. November
ENCORE TWO
You've Done It Again, Virginia
About Today
*
I may have missed some. Hopefully someone'll post it so I can edit the real one later. And I'm sure there will be some shitty YouTube videos posted soon from cell phones also.
Thanks to Sean for hooking up the VIP tix. Everyone working at The National Theater was awesome. Friendly. Helpful. Not dicks at all. I was really surprised. Meaning usually there's someone who has to be an asshole for some reason.
Centro-matic was really good too. We missed the first few songs, but they sounded great, and I recognized some stuff from Love You Just the Same, which I used to listen to a lot my senior year of college. It's a great record and I need to break it out again.
But the National were just amazing. Padma Newsome was indeed there (he wasn't there first time I saw them almost 3 years ago) and was insane. His energy was amazing, and he had so many touches and flourishes not really heard on the records, which is of course one thing that can make a live show even better. And they had a trombone and trumpet player there too, and they were one probably at least half of the songs, making especially the end of "Fake Empire" incredible.
Everything, though, was on point, and the sound was beyond my expectations. The VIP section was fairly packed, though there weren't a lot of us. We, I guess, had some kind of higher end VIP passes and were allowed to go on the smaller balconies leading down to the stage on the side. The one where the old guys from the Muppets sit and bitch about everything. So yes, we had the perfect view. And we got to look at the "pedestrians," as Sean put it. And good Lord was the show packed. Tons of people everywhere, and everyone was going nuts. The crowd was great. The band was great. The energy was great.
It ranks up with some of the best shows I've seen, and is easily now in the top 5. I was telling Sean, too, that living in small town western Pennsylvania, I didn't grow up with bands playing at my fingertips, so great shows mean a lot to me. We have hour and a half drives to Pittsburgh and Cleveland, yes, and most of the shows I've seen have been at The Grog Shop. I've seen Don Caballero, Aloha, Six Parts Seven, Tristeza, Swervedriver, DJ Shadow, The Twilight Singers, and many more. I'll always love that venue.
But unlike Richmond back in the day, shows were always an experience. I remember talking to Jeff Garber (formerly of Castor, whose first CD still is one of my favorite records of all time) back in the day and I remember saying he was almost tired of going to shows. That blew my mind. Cities where shows take place are amazing, but it's easy to take that shit for granted.
I'm rambling now. We got free tickets for Daniel Johnston tomorrow, but I'm not sure I even want to go. I don't think it can match the experience, and I want to have it around a little while longer before I go there for another show.
Start a War
Brainy
Secret Meeting
Squalor Victoria
Baby, We'll Be Fine
Racing Like a Pro
Abel
Slow Show
Daughters of the SoHo Riots
Mistaken for Strangers
Wasp Nest
Ada
Apartment Story
Fake Empire
ENCORE ONE
Green Gloves
All the Wine
Mr. November
ENCORE TWO
You've Done It Again, Virginia
About Today
*
I may have missed some. Hopefully someone'll post it so I can edit the real one later. And I'm sure there will be some shitty YouTube videos posted soon from cell phones also.
Thanks to Sean for hooking up the VIP tix. Everyone working at The National Theater was awesome. Friendly. Helpful. Not dicks at all. I was really surprised. Meaning usually there's someone who has to be an asshole for some reason.
Centro-matic was really good too. We missed the first few songs, but they sounded great, and I recognized some stuff from Love You Just the Same, which I used to listen to a lot my senior year of college. It's a great record and I need to break it out again.
But the National were just amazing. Padma Newsome was indeed there (he wasn't there first time I saw them almost 3 years ago) and was insane. His energy was amazing, and he had so many touches and flourishes not really heard on the records, which is of course one thing that can make a live show even better. And they had a trombone and trumpet player there too, and they were one probably at least half of the songs, making especially the end of "Fake Empire" incredible.
Everything, though, was on point, and the sound was beyond my expectations. The VIP section was fairly packed, though there weren't a lot of us. We, I guess, had some kind of higher end VIP passes and were allowed to go on the smaller balconies leading down to the stage on the side. The one where the old guys from the Muppets sit and bitch about everything. So yes, we had the perfect view. And we got to look at the "pedestrians," as Sean put it. And good Lord was the show packed. Tons of people everywhere, and everyone was going nuts. The crowd was great. The band was great. The energy was great.
It ranks up with some of the best shows I've seen, and is easily now in the top 5. I was telling Sean, too, that living in small town western Pennsylvania, I didn't grow up with bands playing at my fingertips, so great shows mean a lot to me. We have hour and a half drives to Pittsburgh and Cleveland, yes, and most of the shows I've seen have been at The Grog Shop. I've seen Don Caballero, Aloha, Six Parts Seven, Tristeza, Swervedriver, DJ Shadow, The Twilight Singers, and many more. I'll always love that venue.
But unlike Richmond back in the day, shows were always an experience. I remember talking to Jeff Garber (formerly of Castor, whose first CD still is one of my favorite records of all time) back in the day and I remember saying he was almost tired of going to shows. That blew my mind. Cities where shows take place are amazing, but it's easy to take that shit for granted.
I'm rambling now. We got free tickets for Daniel Johnston tomorrow, but I'm not sure I even want to go. I don't think it can match the experience, and I want to have it around a little while longer before I go there for another show.
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